*IGP Withdraws, Redeploys Police Escorts, Guards To Boost Security
BENUE State Governor, Rev, Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has disclosed that armed men who have been attacking communities in the state in the last two months were foreigners, just as he said 73 bodies had been recovered in the latest attacks on Ukum, Logo and Katsina-Ala local councils.
Alia, who disclosed this during a television programme, said: “These folks come in, fully armed with AK-47, AK-49. They don’t bear the Nigerian look and they don’t speak what we speak. Their Hausa is one sort of Hausa, not the normal Hausa we Nigerians speak.
“Our people, who have witnessed the attacks, say they are Malians and different forms of people, but they are not Nigerians.”
The governor explained that the attackers, in a cordinated strategy, operated from cells in Nasarawa and the Nigeria-Cameroun border, near Kwande Local Council of the state, exploiting porous borders, and find their way into the communities in their hundreds on motorbikes, armed with AK-47, AK-49 and machetes.
“They come in as they kill, as they maim, as they push people away. They just keep killing and then they run back.”
He lamented on Good Friday: “They surrounded a number of villages. They were ready, just willing to take anything walking or breathing out. Anything on their way is cleared.
“By morning, 72 deaths were confirmed- 29 in Ukum, 27 in Logo, three in Katsina-Ala and others in hospitals- along with countless injuries and displaced residents.”
Like his Plateau State counterpart, Caleb Mutfwang, the governor insisted that the motive of the marauders as land-grabbing, recalling that they had occupied some local councils in the last 15 years.
Earlier while hosting the visiting National Security Adviser (NSA) to President Bola Tinubu, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Alia said Ukum, Logo, Katsina-Ala, Kwande, Guma and Gwer-West local councils of the state’s 23 local councils were also now on the red line.
“They grab the land, they chase the people out and they stay in the land. That’s what’s going on, because there are some local governments here these people have occupied in the last 15 years.
“These occupied areas serve as bases for repeated attacks. Those are the areas you hear of, constant attacks, because they hit and then they go back into the local government hinterlands.
“The attackers also target food security, with herders in their group destroying stored crops. They would now open the barns, destroy the food, cut the yams and whatever. They cut the guinea corn and maize and throw them to the cows to eat.”
He harped on the need to empower the people to defend themselves, noting: “The terrorists come not just in their 50s, but in hundreds on motorbikes, one motorbike carrying three or four people.
“That’s a lot of terrorists just cruising in. Armed with sophisticated weapons, they outmatch local defences, including the Benue State Civil Protection Guards, who lack heavy weaponry.
“The civil protection guards are also around, but they don’t carry heavy gadgets; the law does not permit them to do this.”
While re-echoing the imperative of community policing to counter the threat and attacks, the governor acknowled that security agencies are overstretched, stating: “The locals are telling us, we want to go and protect our turf.”
The governor urged the Federal Government to establish special security operational bases at the borders and equip the locals, saying the state had already provided 100 vehicles and 600 motorbikes for security agencies.
Alia commended the Police, Army, Civil Defence and DSS for reducing attacks over the past nine months, but added that the current wave required urgent action.
He stressed: “The heat is now just quite enormous that more hands should come in. We need people to understand that we are under a siege. They shouldn’t just say they would take the law into their own hands.
“I strongly urge our people to remain calm and not take the law into their own hands. This is a new version of terrorism.”
Meanwhile, in order to make more personnel available to boost security across the country, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has ordered the immediate withdrawal of riot policemen deployed as escorts, guards and aides to Very Important Personalities(VIPs) and other private individuals.
Speaking at a meeting with Police Mobile Force (PMF) Squadron Commanders in Abuja on Tuesday, Aprill 22, convened to review operational strategies to address the rising insecurity in some parts of the country, especially Plateau and Benue states, Egbetokun also announced that each PMF Squadron must maintain at least one combat-ready unit on standby for interventions in troubled spots.
He lamented that the involvement of anti-riot poilicen/women in non-essential duties defeats the original purpose of the PMF as a tactical unit designed to respond swiftly to riots.
While noting persistent misconduct by such policemen/women, he warned that their commanders would henceforth be held accountable for their misconduct.
He stated: “Directives have already been issued concerning the withdrawal of PMF personnel from unauthorised deployments. All commanders are to enforce this directive without delay.
“The foundational mandate of the Force has been compromised over time. A significant number of PMF personnel are deployed as escorts, guards or aides to private individuals and VIPs.
“This diversion weakens our capacity to respond where needed most.
“Indiscipline and misconduct within the PMF will no longer be tolerated. Today marks the beginning of a new era, one defined by accountability, discipline and a recommitment to our founding values.
“Effective immediately, each PMF Squadron must maintain at least one fully equipped, combat-ready unit on standby for tactical interventions.
“Additionally, every squadron will be required to send one unit for quarterly training focused on ethics, professionalism and responsible policing.”
Egbetokun said that all the commanders were expected to lead regular lectures, inspections and localised training programmes that reinforce discipline and human rights, adding: “The PMF must once again emerge as the elite tactical unit it was intended to be disciplined, professional and ready to defend the nation.”
He noted the rising threat of coordinated attacks on security personnel across the country and called for a united security front, while announcing that the newly established Special Intervention Squad (SIS) will support PMF deployments in conflict zones and a comprehensive reorganisation of the PMF.
“Security is a shared responsibility. Our success depends on trust, respect, and cooperation with all sister security agencies.
“Our focus now is on combating violent crimes and safeguarding national security. We are injecting new leadership perspectives and continuous capacity-building to restore the PMF to its rightful role in internal security and tactical excellence.”
